 In 1882, E. C. Stirling settled near the Adelaide Hills town of Stirling which had been named after his father.He named his 6½-acre property St Vigeans, after the Scottish town where his father had gone to school.A fine two-storey house was constructed in 1882–83, and during the following decades, Stirling himself oversaw the establishment of one of Australia's finest private botanical gardens which included trees and shrubs imported from interstate and overseas.